Top 20 U.S. Suburbs for a Quieter Life Away From the City

by Kiri Blakeley

Cities may be thought of as glamorous and exciting, but many Americans prefer the suburbs. And with thousands of them to choose from, how to know which suburb to pick?

"Where you live shapes so much of your life, from career opportunities to your kids’ education, and even your health!" Nick Liberati, director of communications and content at neighborhood and school review site Niche.com, tells Realtor.com®.

Niche.com has ranked the Best Suburbs to Live in America in 2025, taking into account several key factors of a location, including the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics, and access to amenities, in an attempt to measure the overall quality of an area.

"From school districts and cost of living to outdoor activities and health care access, our rankings combine quantitative data from vetted sources like the U.S. Census with the lived experiences of real residents," he says.

"Our hope is that these rankings make it easier for families, homebuyers, and professionals to make confident, informed decisions."

A suburb is defined as a place located within a Census-defined urbanized area, but outside the principal city with a population of at least 1,000.

The best of suburbia doesn't come cheap

Only four of the suburbs on the list have median home prices under the national of $439,990, according to Realtor.com.

There's Penn Wynne, PA at $288,750; Ardmore, PA at $429,500; Okemos, MI, at $439,000; and the lowest price by far, Brentwood, MO, at $185,000.

"Many of the suburbs on the list are relatively high-priced, but those higher costs often come with larger homes and a more desirable suburban pace of life," says Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com. "This lifestyle appeals to buyers seeking more space and a slower rhythm than city living typically allows."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a flight from the urban centers into suburbs as remote work and a desire for more space and less restrictions drove people outward from the cities, quickly pushing prices upward.

But as the pandemic faded and in-office mandates returned, there has been somewhat of a reverse migration, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

But despite the rising costs of homeownership for items such as list price, insurance, and utilities, Americans under 55 still prefer a suburban single-family dwelling by a vast margin, with 79% describing this as their "ideal" home versus only 8% for an apartment and 7% for a townhouse, according to the Institute for Family Studies.

"For better or worse, the image of the suburban house, complete with a white picket fence and a backyard of one’s own, is permanently etched in our minds," says Lawrence R. Samuel, author of "Home Ownership in America."

The Philly suburbs

A standout on the list is the Main Line section of Philadelphia, which takes no less than three spots (Chesterbrook, Ardmore, and Penn Wynne) in the top 20, including No. 1.

Kate Sydnes of Keller Williams Main Line Realty explains the appeal of the Main Line: "It's a stone's throw from the city," she tells Realtor.com. "And there are a lot of new developments popping up. I get people saying, 'I love that I don't have to live in the city to get to the city.'

"The Main Line is a wonderful combination of everything Philadelphia has to offer and being half an hour from any kind of store you'd want, plus tons of parks and libraries, and a community that cares about you and wants to be friendly," she raves.

Nearby amenities include King of Prussia, the country's fourth largest shopping mall, an international airport, and plenty of state parks and wild nature, and it is on both the Amtrak and SEPTA rail lines. It's easy to get to the Valley Forge National Park.

For those who don't pine for that McMansion, the No. 1 suburb on the list, Chesterbrook, might be your ideal community. It's a development with mostly townhomes, where about 64% of people own their homes and the area is described as "dense suburban," with plenty of amenities and walkability.

Also on the list are two suburbs that are no strangers to "best of" Realtor.com rankings.

No. 2-ranked Carmel, IN, is ranked number 45 nationally on the Hottest Zip Codes of 2025 list, and No. 4 ranked Johns Creek, GA, took the top spot on the Best Small Cities To Live in the U.S. list.

"Johns Creek has all of the basic stuff you'd want in this kind of community; high property values, low crime, good schools, and limited traffic," says Martin Orefice, the CEO of Rent to Own Atlanta. He also praises the town's dedication to recreation: "It organizes community events throughout the year for people of all ages, from families with young kids to retirees."